REVIEW: Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate
Meet Pocket, created as a good luck charm for soldiers going into battle, whose bravery and loyalty lives on long after the war.
Thimble-born from tip to toe, Pocket Bear remembers every moment of his becoming: the glimmering needle, the silken thread, the tender hands as each careful stitch brought him closer to himself. Born during the throes of WWI, he was designed to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket, eyes sewn a bit higher than normal so that he always gazed upward. That way, glancing at his pocket, a soldier would see an endearing token of love from someone back home, and, hopefully, a good luck charm.
Now, over a century later, Pocket serves as unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as “The Cat Burglar,” have seen it all, and then some.
An unforgettable tale of bravery, loyalty, and kindness, Pocket reminds us all that love comes in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff), and that second chances are always possible.
Dear Ms. Applegate,
If the cover wasn’t enough to entice me, knowing this book features talking stuffed animals would have done it. Zephyrina aka Corporal Z aka “The Cat Burgler” aka Kleptocat is an added bonus. I will cheerfully admit that my house is full of stuffed toys, many of which I’ve had since childhood. This is a lovely story of second chances, loyalty, survival, and finding your purpose.
Ukrainian war refugees Elizaveta and her young daughter Dasha live in an apartment with lots of stuffed animals. Some are donated, others found, and Zephyrina drags in the rest. Dasha works to rehab them, writes background stories about them and then tries to find them a second chance with a child to love them.
But one night Zephyrina – a “tiger trapped in a kitty costume” – brings home a bear covered in spaghetti and tomato sauce. She’s just in time for midnight when the toys let loose and play for a few hours before returning to their places in the morning. Older Pocket Bear runs things with a firm but gentle paw. When Pocket sees “Spaghetti,” Z notices Pocket react.
Later Pocket tells Z that he thinks the now renamed Berwon might be the Holy Grail of teddy bears and if so, his sale could bring much needed money to the struggling household. Soon enough one shark is circling and one toy museum employee is telling Dasha about the history of teddy bears. Tough decisions, truths, and much feline bravery will be needed before this tale is over.
“Our job,” Pocket said, “our only job, is to wait with hope. Always with hope. And while we wait, to care for each other.”
I’ll be honest and also admit that though I have several Applegate books, I’ve not read any of them before now. Too many reviews have mentioned sadness and having your heart stomped before the end. But I took a chance with this one. I’ve seen this book tagged with “middle grade” but honestly in my opinion I think 8-12 year olds are the best age range for it. Old enough to understand some of the themes already and others as they are explained.
“You’re not much bigger than a soap bar,” I’d say. “You can’t fix the whole world.”
He would look at me with a small smile. “That much, Zephyrina, I have long since come to accept. But it can’t hurt to try, can it?”
The story is told by Zephyrina, who is bold, brash, and fearless, but doesn’t know quite as much as she thinks she does. She has refused to learn how to read – something Pocket taught himself – and doesn’t accept snuggles or pets as she prefers to be emotionally footloose and fancy free though she does enjoy canned seafood pate and her warm inside bed. Pocket told Z about his past when he accompanied a young American soldier to France in 1917. He hates fighting and won’t yield about this even as Z tells him how hard it can be on the streets. There have been too many wars, he tells her.
“Sometimes,” Pocket said, smiling at me, “the most precious things in life are right under our nose.”
When Berwon has been gussied up, Pocket tells Z what he thinks about Berwon’s origins and what this could mean but Pocket makes sure Berwon is in on all decisions. The two bears spend time comparing their stories and how they were first owned by soldiers on either side of The Great War. Z has heard a little about war as Dasha was injured and her father died in Ukraine. Dasha knows about losing things and so she has an ironclad policy to put all the found toys outside their house in a wagon, to possibly be reclaimed, for three days before trying to find them a new home.
Dasha pressed her lips together. “It is hard for me to talk with friends about what happened to my family during the fighting,” she said. “Unless you’ve been through it yourself, you can’t really understand.”
I thought about Pocket and Berwon, staring at the globe, lost in their memories.
Of course some danger must enter the story. Characters are described and act in ways that gently hint at and show their good or bad intentions. It’s not surprising when the third act kicks off with Dasha being kind and someone else being bad. It also gives Z a chance to shine. When the dust settles though, Z is now faced with something she never saw coming and which she will have to think about before letting go and stepping up. Sometimes old bears are ready to just relax. Sometimes they want to be a means to explain war to children in a kinder way that children can understand.
“You can never lose a true friend,” he said. “True friends are like stars: always there, even when you can’t see them.”
There are some deep issues that are touched on here, but lightly instead of as A Point Being Driven Home. I think the story will explain some things and open children up to discussing others. It shows friendship, endurance, loyalty, perseverance, and reaching deep while being more than you ever planned on. There is right and wrong and how to treat others. And the idea that we all deserve a second chance even if we’re stuffed toys. A
~Jayne
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This sounds lovely, Jayne. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
@Kareni: It’s a wonderful story and I’m glad I finally broke down and read an Applegate book.